by ERICA FLYNN
Greater Westfield Boys & Girl Club
WESTFIELD – The Fine Arts program held at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield encourages artistic expression among club members.
Three days a week from 4-6 p.m., members age 6-18 meet in the cultural enrichment center to explore activities allowing them to experience the use and creation of various art mediums such as charcoal, pastels, watercolors, mixed media, sculpture, collages, and bead making.
Westfield State University art students run workshops at the club that help members develop the fine art skills they learn through this program. This program encourages youth to use art as an outlet to express themselves and reminds members that there is no wrong way to create art.
Thanks to funding in the amount of $1,750 from the Westfield Cultural Council, whose funding supports various community projects in the arts, humanities and sciences annually, the club’s fine arts program was able to provide low-income youth the various art supplies needed to allow them to be creative and feel a sense of pride in the artwork they produced.
At the program’s completion, a fine arts exhibit was held at the club allowing all 75 participants to be recognized for their efforts.
Art majors from Westfield State University served as judges to select pieces to move on to a regional competition. This regional exhibit was held at the Boys & Girls Club of Fitchburg and Leominster in April.
From there, 37 pieces were chosen to be sent to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Headquarters to be displayed, judged and selected for the National Fine Arts Exhibit. The artwork is then displayed throughout the ensuing year at BGCA events.
Being selected at the local exhibit as a winner to continue on to the regional judging events and exhibits is a huge accomplishment.
“I’ve never had my art selected to move on to something this big before,” said club member Alysa Rodriquez.
She is very excited to have had her collage entitled “The Hawaiian Sunset” chosen to move on to the regional exhibit. There, her artwork along with the artwork of others, will proudly represent the creatively artistic members of the B&GC of Greater Westfield.
